Reflect 2009 then act on 2010
By Chris | December 31, 2009
Yup, it’s that time of year again. Christmas is over and now the beginning of a new year. Once the climax of Christmas has worn off, we get a chance to reflect on our year. We think about what goals that we set out to hit and the ones we missed. Did we lose the extra weight we had promised to last year? Did we make a career move? Did we take take a workshop, course, or on-line learning subscription?
It not matter too much if we achieved our goals that we set last year, as long as we made some sort of progress toward our goals. For us non-vocational photographers sometimes our vocation takes time away from our hobby, as it did this year for me. Some times life just gets in the way of our passion.
As I reflect on 2009, my photographic shooting life has been slow. I had not shot as many photo’s as I should have or could have. On the other hand, I made an effort to connect with other photogs through social media. Also, I went on a few photo walks with others and had a fun time while creating some decent images. Connecting with other photographers, as I am finding out, is important. We can learn, network, share, and inspire each other. We photo-holics need this.
In 2010, I want to keep the goals simple and well within reach. I am not on some sort of fast track program to full-time vocational photographer. This is not my goal. Therefore, I can take my sweet time and enjoy the process. As long as I make progress, improve on technical skill, get some art on my walls, and have a good time with my creative outlet… that is all that matters.
Action Goals
Gear Goals
Learning Goals
Happy New Year, All!
Shoot like hell in 2010!
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Fight the “Gear Gremlins!”
By Chris | December 3, 2009
Recently David DuChemin created a fury of comments about NOT getting into debt for buying gear. I agree with him 100% not just for your photography business but for your personal finances as well. Sure, use your credit card to make a purchase as long as you can pay the balance off immediately. The benefits are purchase protection and travel miles/bonus dollars.
As photographers, part of the draw we have toward the craft is “fancy-dancy-newest-technology”. At least it is for me. I admit liking the gadgets and new technology. However, I refrain myself from have the newest gadget for the sake of financial responsibility. I know going into debt for gadgets that make me little or no money is not financially responsible.
Will the new pro-body camera make us better photographers? No, I don’t think so. If I drove a Ferrari, it wouldn’t make me a better driver? In fact, it would probably make me a worse driver. Anyways, there are tons of arguments on David’s blog on “why” to stay debt free. Most of his readers understand them. Including myself.
What I suggest is have a look at people who DON’T use pro-body cameras! I have stumbled upon a “pro photographer” who still uses Polaroid. He created great images with his cheap old camera. I just wish that I book marked his site to share with you. My bad. Anyways, I took a look at Flickr to see who else out there is using old gear, including a Kodak Brownie, which I personally own thanks to Grandma. She left it for me years before she died. The camera is the image above.
A photographer who still uses his Brownie is here. There are others who use older gear, some for the sake of using old technology and some who are satisfied with what their current gear does. I believe many night photographers still use slide film. Troy Paiva finally moved to digital in 2005. He is now using a Canon 20D.
I challenge myself to stay with the gear I have. I am resisting the “Gear Gremlin”. Maybe I will use LESS gear or OLDER gear than I already have. Maybe I should get some film for my Olympus OM-10. Confining yourself will force you to “think outside the box”. It’s a challenge… but without challenge there can not be growth as an artist. That goes for anything really.
Finally, FYI the above image was created on my kitchen counter. I guess I do have a studio after all, my kitchen studio. A science fair white display board thing that I had found at Staples for $15 that is used as a back drop. The Brownie sits on two pieces of white printer paper. A SB800 flash on a portable light stand worth about $60. The flash was bounced off a 32″ collapsible reflector that cost about $30. A cheaper piece of white board could of had the same effect. My Nikon D200 is two years old with no plans for an upgrade to a D700… well, unless I win the lottery.
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Pretty and Gritty
By Chris | August 26, 2009
Last Saturday evening, Simon Beaumont organized a little photowalk for a few of us that had participated in the World Wide Photowalk. Though there were no big lights and pocket wizards this time. That’s ok because I had a good time regardless.
A smaller group of photographers was more intimate and social. There was Simon, Bryan, Sabrina, and my wife, who was there to tag along. Ironically, we were all Nikon shooters which was kinda cool because there was four speedlights that could be utilized using the Nikon CLS system. At one point we all dug out our speedlights to use. One of us fired a shot from our camera then all the flashes fired too! A happy accident.
We skirted our way down the gritty part of town then over to Crab Park. It is amazing how much of a contrast two city blocks is. One part very “gritty” then a block or two over, it’s very “pretty”.
We hope to continue doing this image capture/social gatherings in the future. It was a lot of fun.
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The Best Dog in the World!
By Chris | August 16, 2009
Last week, my wife and I lost our dog to cancer at the age of 12.5 years. Emily was the “Best dog in the world”. She was one of my favourite photography model as she worked for free, not to mention, very photogenic. I “blog my dog” because I want people to know how much we loved her. We miss her dearly.
We got Emily as a nine week old pup. I “picked it” as I would always say to my wife, Trish, or anybody else who witnessed her good behavior. She was a cheap purchase of $75 but she had high maintenance costs; anti-allergic food, vet bills, hotel sur-charges, ect. She was worth it though.
Well Behaved
She would never jump on people.
She would never jump out of the car unlessed given permission.
She would never enter through a doorway first. People were first.
She never bit or nipped anybody even when teased or hasselled.
She never did her “business” inside.
She didn’t chase our cat, Little Wigs… ok, maybe a little but she didn’t harm Little Wigs. Personally, I think it was a game between them. They seemed to enjoy their little “Mexican stand-offs”.
She was a food beggar so we trained her to stay outside the kitchen while we cooked. She was a “long distance beggar dog”.
Her issues and idiosyncracies
She didn’t like computer or electronic beeps and such. She would get nervous and hide when hearing such sounds.
She was a left handed dog. She always returned a ball to the person on the left. It didn’t matter if two people switched positions, she would still return the ball to the person on the left.
She didn’t like me taking a bath. I guess she thinks she might be next though we haven’t bathed her in years, the groomer did that once a year for us.
Her tricks
The basics of course: Sit, stay, come. She was trained for both verbal and visual commands for all of her tricks.
She would run from across a field when told verbally or visually to “come”.
Shake a paw. A friend who met her for the first time bent down, extended his hand for a shake and said, “Hi, I’m Ian. How do you do?” Emily shook his hand to his suprise.
Though she wasn’t the kind of dog you would expect to “sit pretty”… she could and did.
She could roll over. In her later years, I suppose rolling over was too much of a hassle for her so she turned it into a “turn around”. That was fine.
Fetching
Emily loved to fetch things. She was OCD about it whether the item was a tennis ball, stick, or frisbee. She returned items in a very timely matter and at your feet.
She had a special need for sticks. Hearing the snap of a broken stick would perk her ears right up! She wanted to fetch it. Sometimes, she would what we called, “Pulp mill”. That meant she chewed the stick apart. Also, sometimes she could amuse herself with a stick. During her walks, sometimes she would drop a stick in the creek then watch the stick float away down stream. Then she would quickly run down stream to catch it! Emily would repeat this game with herself many times.
Emily wanted to fetch “at all costs!” When on a hike we had to tell people that were throwing a stick for her to take care in not throwing a stick over a cliff and such. Emily would certainly leap to where the stick was with reckless disregard.
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Vancouver Photo Walk!
By Chris | July 20, 2009
First of all, I would like to apologize to my eight readers for my absence. A lot has been going on in recent months. I am here now though!
On Saturday July 18th, I participated in Scott Kelby’s World Wide Photo Walk. The Vancouver walk was led by David DuChemin and Dave Delnea. It was a super experience as it was more of a photo walk SLASH Lighting Workshop! They boys had brought out a bunch of pocket wizards, monolight, speedlights, reflectors, ect ect. All the fun stuff to make a photo really pop.
It was a fun time and three hours went by in what seemed three minutes. I did learn a lot about my bad shooting habits though. This walk was also a huge education on lighting. Here is what I learned on the walk:
- Speedlights don’t work against the sun. I tried to light up the shadows with my SB-800 against the high sun. It didn’t work. I still got shadows. If I had moved closer to the subject, perhaps, it would of worked. However, when I shot with the pocket wizard firing the big ass mono light… it was magic! I could put the model back to the sun and use the strobe light to light her face. Wonderful lighting as it was firing through a big soft box! It’s just too bad I had some really bad compositions.
- Composition. I could have been better. When shooting the models, I tended to cut then off at the legs. I had few full body shots and few close up portrait shots.
- Shoot for cropping. I tend to frame the subject as I see it in the final print. I should of raked in the lens a bit to allow for cropping. Many of my original captures did not allow for decent cropping.
- Dress for the event. I accidently booked a social engagement on the same evening as the shoot. I had also rode my motorbike to the walk. Therefore, I wasn’t sure of the best way to dress for all three things. Also, I did not expect the models to be in the water. If I had worn my quick dry clothing as David DuChemin had, I could of got closer to the model and more interesting angles as David did. I had jeans and running shoes.
The walk was great learning experience and inspiration. David and Dave were absolutely delightful to shoot with and learn from. They really made it fun. I can’t wait for next year. Oh and before I go. Check out the great video from the day. See if you can find me.
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